2012 Tour of Homes, December 2, 2012

The home of Judy Belzer was looking like a warm country Christmas for the Tour of Homes 2010

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Christmas season is rapidly approaching and the Oskaloosa Area Association of Churches is again sponsoring the Annual Tour of Homes. We invite you to spend Sunday afternoon, December 2, 2012, from 1-4 p.m., visiting these homes, visiting with friends and preparing for the Christmas Season. The host church will be St. Paul Congregational United Church of Christ, where you may enjoy refreshments with friends and family. The homes of Sue & Dwain Miller, Ben & Roxie Moorman, Jacob Ray, and Jerald & Linda Wolf will be included on the tour this year. Advance Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at Mahaska Drug, The Book Vault, and the Oskaloosa Chamber Office. Tickets the day of the event may be purchased at St. Paul Congregational United Church of Christ or any of the homes.

The profits from this years event will be given to Crisis Intervention Services. Crisis Intervention Services (CIS) works to end all forms of domestic violence and sexual abuse through prevention and life skills education, intervention, and outreach services to empower persons, families, and the community. They provide a multitude of services, including twenty-four hour crisis response, emergency shelter, transitional housing, financial assistance and economic advocacy, short-term counseling, legal and medical advocacy, transportation and help with employment and education. They provide services in Keokuk, Lucas, Mahaska, and Marion counties.

St. Paul Congregational United Church of Christ is located at 501 High Ave. E and is our host church this year. They invite you to join them for refreshments and visit their beautifully decorated church. In the Advent season we are beginning our 40th anniversary celebration of the 1973 merger of two UCC congregations with a historical display in our beautifully decorated Sanctuary. We are also a congregation that looks to the future, believing that, “God is still speaking.” We encourage people to wonder, challenge, and explore both the scriptures and how God is calling us to be in relationship with the world. We begin every worship service by saying, “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.” We invite you to join us at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings for our church service.

Dwain and Sue Miller invite you to our home, which was built in the year 2000. We needed a home that would be able to handle our growing family when they all came home at the same time. It has grown to 10 grandkids along with our 4 children and their spouses. We designed the house with a large lower level so the kids could have room to run. It has a large bedroom and full bath along with lots of storage area and a place to hold my meetings and events with a room for sewing, and wrapping and large table to handle the overflow. We even have a shop for Whitey that he can get to from the garage. Our upstairs has 3 bedrooms with 2 full baths and a ½ bath off the kitchen. We adjusted the design of the house to make it more energy efficient and more for handicap accessibility with a ramp that is built on our patio. Our favorite part of the house is the view of our backyard. We have over an acre of ground right in the middle of the housing area with every tree planted in a strategic place for our privacy. We love to decorate the outside of the house as much as the inside with lots of evergreen and bright red poinsettias. Sue has accumulated lots of Santas, snowmen and angels that she likes to bring out at this time. We also have some beautiful Christmas linens that we bought while we were in Turkey. Although the house is fairly new – it has been decorated with a lot of antiques that have been passed down from several generations. We do love our home and are excited to share it with you during this joyous Christmas season.

107 Rosenberger Avenue, residence of Jerry and Linda Wolf, is a ranch style home that will perhaps surprise you. The basic footprint of the house has changed over time with repurposing and additions. One of the early features unique in the home is the nine-foot by four-and-a-half foot mirror in the dining room. There are antique family furnishings and holiday decorations with “old fashioned” characteristics as well as numerous items that have been collected over time which give it a very “homey” welcome. You will find at least one nativity in every room of the house. We look forward to supporting the Crisis Intervention Services and having you visit us on December 2.

Roxy and Ben Moorman invite you to their home at 1014 C Avenue East. This 2400 square feet, two story home was built in the early 1900’s. The woodwork and exterior wooden siding are original. The kitchen and garage were added later. Seven years ago a fire did extensive damage and the upstairs and kitchen were completely redone. When you visit our home, you will see that even though it is an old home, the emphasis is on children. We have three girls, Melissa, Meghan and Madeline. Every room is colorful, packed with stuff for children and comfortable for a family. With our Christmas decorations it is even brighter.

As you approach 404 North C Street, you may have memories of the home whether you’ve visited or simply walked by and admired its features. Over the last 100 years, several families have called this house their home. This will be the second Christmas that Jacob Ray gets to string the lights on the home’s beautiful columns and robust bushes. Jacob was born in Oskaloosa 21 years ago. When he was 4 his family moved to the St. Louis area and at age 6 Medford, New Jersey became home for Jacob and his brothers and sister. In New Jersey he apprenticed under a master landscaper with a multi-million dollar landscaping company and had the good fortune to help build grass tennis courts and state of the art driveways in the Hamptons and Martha’s Vineyard. After graduation it was time to go house shopping and he decided to do his primary search in the town that his family traveled back to for Christmas every year – Oskaloosa. His entire life, he loved treasures and castles. As a young man he also had great interest in trucks and cars so a large garage seemed an essential part of the house search. When asked about his favorite Christmas memory, he said it was the big family dinner. When Amy, his realtor, took him to 404 North C, he loved the grand home, the large yard and knew that he would be able to put a huge table in the dining room for great Christmas gatherings! He was sold and thanks to Jacob, he’s almost brought his whole family back to Iowa – the place he always considered was really home. Jacob and his brother, Zach, own Ray’s Elite Remodeling and enjoy adding to the creativity and beauty of Oskaloosa, one house at a time. Enjoy viewing some work they’ve done at 404 N C on December 2nd and check out their website to see other contributions to homes in Oskaloosa at Rayseliteremodeling.com

Oskaloosa Area Association of churches invites you with family and friends, to spend Sunday afternoon, December 2 afternoon, visiting St. Paul Congregational United Church of Christ and these homes. We hope that this time helps you prepare for the Christmas Season. Advance tickets may be purchased at Mahaska Drug, The Book Vault, and Oskaloosa Chamber Office. Tickets on Dec. 2 may be purchased at St. Paul Congregational Church and any of the homes.